The present invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of styrene, stilbene, and substituted derivatives thereof. The process comprises reacting an aryl sulfonyl chloride with an olefinic compound in the presence of a specified catalyst.
In typical prior art processes for the preparation of styrene, ethylbenzene is dehydrogenated to form the desired product. It is further known in the art that stilbene can be produced by the partial oxidation of toluene in the presence of a catalyst. For example, in one such process, toluene is passed over hot lead oxide so as to yield stilbene.
In contrast to the prior art processes described above, the present invention provides a flexible process which can be used for the preparation of a relatively broad class of compounds including styrene, stilbene, and substituted derivatives thereof.